A light-emitting diode (LED) is one of light-emitting devices that emit light when a current is applied thereto. LEDs may operate at a low voltage to emit light with high efficiency, and thus an energy saving effect thereof is outstanding. Recently, a luminance problem of the LED has been significantly improved, and thus the LED is being applied to various devices such as backlight units of liquid crystal display devices, electronic sign boards, indicators, home appliances, and the like.
LED includes a light-emitting structure having an N-type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a p-type semiconductor layer which are provided on a support substrate, and includes an N-type electrode and a p-type electrode which are connected to the light-emitting structure.
Owing to lattice inconsistency between the light-emitting structure and the support substrate, however, a lattice defect, such as dislocation, may occur in a first semiconductor layer. A V-shaped pit caused by the dislocation is formed in the active layer such that there is a problem in that luminous efficiency is degraded.